Brigadier Alastair Stevenson Pearson CB DSO and 3 Bars OBE MC TD (1915 - 1995) was a baker and farmer and one of the most highly-regarded soldiers of the British Army who served in World War II. Pearson was born in Glasgow on 1 June 1915. After leaving school, he worked as a baker and enlisted in the Territorial Army. He was assigned to the 6th Battalion the Highland Light Infantry which was fully mobilised in 1939. Soon after, the 6th HLI became attached to the British 52nd (Lowland) Division.
Pearson was attached to the South Lancashire Regiment and served briefly in France during January 1940. On 8 June 1940, after the end of Operation Dynamo, he returned to France with the 6th HLI. He fought in the Battle of France with the Second British Expeditionary Force. He was evacuated on 17th June as part of Operation Ariel.
On its return to the United Kingdom, the British 52nd (Lowland) Division was assigned to defend the coast whereupon Pearson volunteered to join a special forces unit. He was promoted to the rank of Major and served as second-in-command of 2nd Battalion, 1st Parachute Brigade. Within a fortnight, Pearson was transferred to 1st Battalion by its commander Lieutenant Colonel Eric Down. Pearson was promptly demoted by Down after a rioutous night on the town. Pearson was promoted to the rank of Major for the second time before becoming second-in-command of 1st Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel James Hill.
In October 1942, the 1st Parachute Brigade was sent to Tunisia to participate in Operation Torch. Pearson assumed command of 1st Battalion when Hill was badly wounded on 23rd November. For his actions while under heavy fire, Pearson was awarded the Military Cross. At the age of twenty-seven, Pearson was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given command of the 1st Parachute Battalion. Pearson was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his actions in late January and early February, 1943. He was awarded a second DSO for actions during the Battle of Tamera in March.
Pearson was awarded a third DSO for his contribution to the Invasion of Sicily. In July 1943, the 1st Parachute Brigade was assigned to capture Primosole Bridge in Sicily, ahead of Bernard Montgomery's 8th Army. Due to high winds, intense flak, and poor flying, less than 20% of the 1,900 men of the brigade landed on target. However, the bridge was captured and Pearson organized a defence. German forces counter-attacked the following day and the paratroopers were forced to withdraw. Pearson helped to recapture the bridge by guiding a battalion of the Durham Light Infantry in an attack on the flank of the German infantry holding the bridge. After the Sicilian campaign, Pearson recuperated from an attack of malaria.
During the summer of 1944, the commander of the new British 6th Airborne Division, Richard Nelson Gale gave Pearson command of the division's 8th Battalion, which had been formed from the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Pearson immediately began preparing the battalion for the Battle of Normandy. On the night of June 5, 1944, the battalion departed England for France. On landing, Pearson was shot in the hand but continued to command. The 8th battalion would go on to destroy several bridges over the River Dives and then take up defensive positions in the Bavent Wood, east of Pegasus Bridge. Pearson was awarded a fourth DSO for his contributions during the Battle of Normandy.
On his return to England in September 1944, Pearson surrendered command of the 8th Battalion due to ill health. He then resigned his commission to return to his bakery in Glasgow. In 1947, he rejoined the Territorial Army and commanded the 15th (Scottish Volunteer) Parachute Battalion. Later, he gave up the bakery to turn to farming. In 1951, he was made a Deputy Lord-Lieutenant for Glasgow. In 1967, he was promoted to Brigadier and became Commandant of the Army Cadet Force in Scotland. He became Deputy Lord-Lieutenant for Dumbartonshire in 1979.
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